Japanese Oden Offers Winter Comfort

February 18, 1998|By Patricia Chargot, Knight-Ridder/Tribune.

In the Japanese Alps, site of the Winter Olympics, where snow clogs the narrow mountain valleys and clings to the tile roofs of ancient temples, countless families without central heating will huddle around their tables tonight and eat oden.

Businessmen on their way home from work will stop at their favorite bar to sip sake and order the hearty, one-pot stew in small portions, one with each round of drinks.

Using chopsticks, they'll place a tiny dab of hot mustard on each morsel of chicken, beef, egg, fried tofu, potato, daikon radish or fish cake. Inevitably, tourists who wander in will use too much mustard, their eyes widening as their nasal passages explode.

Ah, oden (oh-DEN). Popular across Japan, it's one of the world's great cold-weather stews--right up there with France's cassoulet, Brazil's feijoada and America's chili. But how many non-Asians have heard of it? Not many, including most amateur and professional cooks as well as those who have heard of more familiar Japanese dishes such as sushi and tempura.

With the oden comes sticky rice, a medium-grain white rice that is, well, sticky compared with fluffier kinds. How to explain its role? There is nothing in American cuisine as ubiquitous as rice is in Japan. It's almost sacred, embracing, filling, essential.

"Many people eat rice three times a day," says Chieko Hughes, a cook at Tribute in Farmington Hills, Mich., who was born in Japan.

"Each kernel has an identity. It's not smashed," she says, gently removing some freshly cooked rice from a pot with a special rice paddle and transferring it to a small serving bowl.

Serving rice so artfully, as opposed to scooping it up like ice cream, is an example of the effort that goes into Japanese food presentation at every level.

The oden recipe here, from Hughes, is a perfect dish to curl up with on a couch when you watch the Olympics.

The ingredients here can be found in Japanese markets. Fish cakes and fried tofu cakes come in rounds or cylinders. If desired, you can substitute more tofu cakes for the fish cakes, using a variety of shapes. Iriko dashi is a sardine-type soup stock.

3. For serving, mix together dry mustard and warm water until mixture is smooth. Place a mixture of stew ingredients in a bowl for each serving, allowing one hard-cooked egg per person. Garnish with mizuma or watercress, if using. Serve stew with mustard for dabbing on stew ingredients. Serve with rice.

Nutrition information per serving:

Calories465 Fat19 g Cholesterol270 mg

Sodium1,390 mg Carbohydrates37 g Protein30 g

JAPANESE STICKY RICE

Preparation time: 10 minutes

Soaking and standing time: 30 minutes

Cooking time: About 15 minutes

Yield: 3 1/2 cups

From "Japanese Cooking for the American Table," by Susan Fuller Slack.

2 cups short- or medium-grain rice, such as Nishiki brand

2 1/3 cups bottled spring water or tap water

1. Place rice in large bowl. Add large amount of cool tap water. Stir rice. Pour off water. Add fresh water; repeat process until water is fairly clear. Drain rice in a strainer; tap gently to remove liquid. Inspect rice and remove any impurities.